I am reduced now to doing nothing - not even the stationary bike. My symptoms have stopped improving, and I have been forced to schedule an appointment with a sports medicine orthopedist - something I probably should have done a month ago.
The good news is it can only get better from here. Whatever the eventual diagnosis, whatever the prescribed recovery, whatever my fitness level when I return...I vow to be a better, healthier runner when all is said and done. Until then, I am Whitman's "noiseless patient spider," waiting for my gossamer thread to catch somewhere.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Cross Training, Week 2
Monday, May 21st:
Off.
Tuesday, May 22nd:
7:20 pm
Stationary Bike
40 minutes easy (22.5 mph)
Time is starting to go by a lot faster and easier on the bike. Especially while watching Storage Wars.
Off.
Tuesday, May 22nd:
7:20 pm
Stationary Bike
40 minutes easy (22.5 mph)
Time is starting to go by a lot faster and easier on the bike. Especially while watching Storage Wars.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Cross Training, Week 1
Wednesday, May 16th:
8:00 pm
Stationary bike
30 minutes easy (22 mph)
Felt great to sweat again. Turnover very natural - surprised at how easy it felt. I probably have gained about 8-10 lbs in the past month - good to know I haven't lost all my athletic ability yet. :)
Thursday, May 17th:
4:00 pm, 73 degrees, 30%, 10-15 mph. Neighborhood. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
1m easy (7:47)
Went out for a test jog today to monitor symptoms and recovery progress. Relatively pain-free, but still a bit off. Huffed and puffed a little the first 1/4m but then fell back into the old rhythm with a little more exaggerated arm swing than normal to ease the pace. Felt okay, but think I'll stick to the bike for at least a few more days before giving the roads another test. Luckily didn't feel any worse the wear afterward from having run. Also, calf and quad stretches don't seem to exacerbate anything, but butterfly and sometimes seated hamstring stretches do.
Friday, May 18th:
12:30 am
Stationary Bike
30 minutes easy (22 mph)
Couldn't sleep. The bike just feels much more natural than running right now. Surprisingly starting to enjoy it. Killing time by watching SportsCenter doesn't hurt either.
2:00 pm
Stationary Bike
30 minutes easy (22 mph)
Saturday, May 19th:
Day off. Feeling run down.
Sunday, May 20th:
2:00 pm
Stationary Bike
60 minutes easy (22 mph)
Butt started to get numb around 45 minutes, worked my way through it.
Weekly Totals: 1m/55m
Definitely not ready to start running again any time soon. Whenever I put extra weight on my body (by lifting something, running, kicking, jumping) I definitely feel a regression in my groin/hip for the next day or so. Stretching doesn't do it any favors also. I think my plan for the next month or two is to just stick to the bike to maintain some fitness. I may even splurge and get a road bike just to add some variety to the mix, may be even to join the running group for their long runs. I am happy I can do something to stay preoccupied and not feel like such a fat slob.
8:00 pm
Stationary bike
30 minutes easy (22 mph)
Felt great to sweat again. Turnover very natural - surprised at how easy it felt. I probably have gained about 8-10 lbs in the past month - good to know I haven't lost all my athletic ability yet. :)
Thursday, May 17th:
4:00 pm, 73 degrees, 30%, 10-15 mph. Neighborhood. Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
1m easy (7:47)
Went out for a test jog today to monitor symptoms and recovery progress. Relatively pain-free, but still a bit off. Huffed and puffed a little the first 1/4m but then fell back into the old rhythm with a little more exaggerated arm swing than normal to ease the pace. Felt okay, but think I'll stick to the bike for at least a few more days before giving the roads another test. Luckily didn't feel any worse the wear afterward from having run. Also, calf and quad stretches don't seem to exacerbate anything, but butterfly and sometimes seated hamstring stretches do.
Friday, May 18th:
12:30 am
Stationary Bike
30 minutes easy (22 mph)
Couldn't sleep. The bike just feels much more natural than running right now. Surprisingly starting to enjoy it. Killing time by watching SportsCenter doesn't hurt either.
2:00 pm
Stationary Bike
30 minutes easy (22 mph)
Saturday, May 19th:
Day off. Feeling run down.
Sunday, May 20th:
2:00 pm
Stationary Bike
60 minutes easy (22 mph)
Butt started to get numb around 45 minutes, worked my way through it.
Weekly Totals: 1m/55m
Definitely not ready to start running again any time soon. Whenever I put extra weight on my body (by lifting something, running, kicking, jumping) I definitely feel a regression in my groin/hip for the next day or so. Stretching doesn't do it any favors also. I think my plan for the next month or two is to just stick to the bike to maintain some fitness. I may even splurge and get a road bike just to add some variety to the mix, may be even to join the running group for their long runs. I am happy I can do something to stay preoccupied and not feel like such a fat slob.
Update on Recovery
It's been a month since I stopped running. My symptoms are finally starting to dissipate, but I feel like I am still a ways away from getting back out on the roads. While an x-ray revealed no major fractures in my hip/pelvic area, it is likely I suffered from either a stress reaction or stress fracture on my pubic ramus bone based on my symptoms. Since the only way to know for sure that I have a stress fracture is to undergo an expensive MRI, and since the recommended treatment for a stress fracture is to continue resting, my doctor and I agreed that unless my symptoms take a sudden turn for the worse, the most affordable course of action is to continue resting and monitoring progress.
Initially, it felt like I was riding on a bicycle seat 24/7 - not painful, but definitely not comfortable. Thankfully, my everyday routine habits (putting on pants, walking up and down stairs, carrying weighted objects - like Penelope) are back to being routine without some sharp reminder that I have an injury. In fact, unless I try to jog or jump or do anything super stressful with a lot of weight-bearing force, I wouldn't even know that I am still mending. The danger is trying to jump back on the saddle too soon, which could set me back to where I started and the past month of rest would mean nothing. So I am playing it super safe instead. I did discover that I am now able to ride the stationary bike without aggravating anything, so I am hoping to keep up fitness with cross training. Once Janine's parents open up their pool for the summer, I plan on getting some swimming and aqua jogging in as well.
I will continue to think long-term (i.e., past this year) and build my fitness back slowly. If anything, I learned that being really fit doesn't necessarily have to come from training hard and doing super challenging workouts - it comes from being healthy enough to string together long periods of uninterrupted training. I am not ready to set any goals for myself in the near future - just looking to listen to my body's signals and follow wherever they may lead.
Initially, it felt like I was riding on a bicycle seat 24/7 - not painful, but definitely not comfortable. Thankfully, my everyday routine habits (putting on pants, walking up and down stairs, carrying weighted objects - like Penelope) are back to being routine without some sharp reminder that I have an injury. In fact, unless I try to jog or jump or do anything super stressful with a lot of weight-bearing force, I wouldn't even know that I am still mending. The danger is trying to jump back on the saddle too soon, which could set me back to where I started and the past month of rest would mean nothing. So I am playing it super safe instead. I did discover that I am now able to ride the stationary bike without aggravating anything, so I am hoping to keep up fitness with cross training. Once Janine's parents open up their pool for the summer, I plan on getting some swimming and aqua jogging in as well.
I will continue to think long-term (i.e., past this year) and build my fitness back slowly. If anything, I learned that being really fit doesn't necessarily have to come from training hard and doing super challenging workouts - it comes from being healthy enough to string together long periods of uninterrupted training. I am not ready to set any goals for myself in the near future - just looking to listen to my body's signals and follow wherever they may lead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)